Current Affairs - November 2020

• Defence Forces Academy, Ghaziabad
• 31, Dec 2020

Content:

• Current affairs

Current Affairs: Important Current Affairs October 2020

Nobel Prize 2020 announced

• The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020 was awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter(America), Charles M. Rice (America) and Michael Houghton (Britain) for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus.
• The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 was divided, one half awarded to Roger Penrose for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity. The other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy.
• The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna "for the development of a method for genome editing". The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
• The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2020 is awarded to the American poet Louise Glück "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal".
• The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Programme is the world‘s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.

Indian Air Force Day: 08 October

Indian Air Force Day is celebrated every year by the Indian Air Force on 8th of October. This year Indian Air Force celebrated its 88th anniversary. Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932 by the British Empire as the Royal Indian Air Force. The name was changed to Indian Air Force in 1950.
The special occasion will be celebrated with a ceremonial parade and flypast involving a variety of aircraft at the Hindon airbase. IAF‘s frontline warplanes like Rafale, Su- 30MKI, Apache, Tejas, 'Gajraj' will showcase its lethal firepower. 56 aircraft, including 19 fighters and seven transport aircraft along with 19 helicopters, would be taking part in aerial display during this year‘s Air Force Day Parade. The Rafale fighter aircraft would fly in the 'Vijay' formation along with the Jaguars and then in the 'Transformer' formation with the Sukhoi-30 MKI and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighter aircraft during the IAF Day parade this year.

Why Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on 8th October?

The IAF was founded on October 8, 1932, and the force has participated in several crucial wars and landmark missions. It was officially established as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India‘s aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India. With the government‘s transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed

PM Modi dedicates Atal Tunnel to the nation

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has dedicated Atal Tunnel to the nation, on 3rd October 2020. In December 2019, the Government has decided to name the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel in honour of the former Prime Minister and scholar Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had taken the decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass on June 3, 2000, and the foundation stone for the access road to the south portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.

About Atal Tunnel:

• Atal Tunnel is the world‘s longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
• The tunnel has been named after former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• Atal tunnel has been built, by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh.
• The total length of the tunnel is 9.02 km and at an elevation of 3,100 metres (10,171 ft).
• The overall cost of completion of the project is around Rs. 3200 crore.

Russia has given regulatory approval to a second Covid-19 vaccine

Russia has given regulatory approval to a second Covid-19 vaccine, named 'EpiVacCorona', after early-stage studies. The new coronavirus vaccine comes two months after a similar move for Russia‘s first vaccine Sputnik V prompted widespread criticism from scientists both at home and abroad.

Russia became the first country to give regulatory approval to a Covid-19 vaccine in August when Sputnik V was officially registered ahead of the large-scale clinical trial. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country has registered the second Covid-19 vaccine.

About EpiVacCorona:

• The second Russian vaccine to receive regulatory approval was developed by the Vector State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology.
• The two-shot vaccine, 'EpiVacCorona', was tested among 100 volunteers in early-stage, placebo- controlled human trials, which lasted more than two months and were completed two weeks ago.
• The volunteers were between 18 and 60 years old.
• Vector‘s vaccine EpiVacCorona relies on chemically synthesized peptide antigens of SARS-CoV-2 proteins, conjugated to a carrier protein and adsorbed on an aluminium-containing adjuvant, according to details posted at ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies conducted around the world.

Rafael Nadal wins French Open 2020

Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win the men‘s 2020 French Open Title. This is his 13th French Open men‘s singles title and 20th Grand Slam title. In Women‘s single, Iga Swiatek of Poland, claimed a historic win, by becoming the youngest women to win the title in the history of the championship. She defeated Sofia Kenin, of the United States and became the first Polish tennis player to win the singles‘ Grand Slam.

Winners of French Open Tennis 2020:

Men‘s Single - Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Women‘s Single - Iga Swiatek (Poland)
Men‘s Double - Kevin Krawietz & Andreas Mies (Germany)
Women‘s Double - Tímea Babos (Hungary) & Kristina Mladenovic (France)

PM Modi to release commemorative coin to mark 75th Anniversary of FAO

• Under this, the air or rail fare is reimbursed as per pay scale/entitlement. Also, leave encashment of ten days (pay+dearness allowance) is paid.
• However, employees will not be able to avail the LTC in the 2018-21 year block due to the ongoing Covid- 19 pandemic. This is where the LTC will benefit government employees.
• In lieu of one LTC during 2018-21, employees will receive a cash payment. There will be full payment on leave encashment and fare will be paid as per three slabs depending upon the class of entitlement. Further, there will be no tax on fare payment.
• An employee opting for this scheme will have to buy goods and services worth three times the fare and one time leave encashment, and do so before March 31, 2021.
• The money is to be spent on goods attracting GST of 12% or more and only digital payments will be allowed. Also, employees will have to provide a GST invoice.
• The finance minister said the scheme would cost Rs 5,675 crore if central government employees opt for it. However, for PSB and PSU employees, its cost would be Rs 1,900 crore.
• Sitharaman further projected that with even 50% states opting for this scheme, the government expects to infuse Rs 9,000 crore into the economy.

ISA Solar Awards conferred for the first time

For the first time, since the inception of the framework agreement of ISA, the Solar Awards were presented during the third Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to the countries of the region as well as institutions working for solar.

Three categories of awards were conferred which included:

• Visvesvaraya award recognises the countries with a maximum floating solar capacity in each of the four regions of ISA.
• Kalpana Chawla awards recognise the outstanding contribution of scientists and engineers working in the field of solar energy.
• Diwakar award recognizes organisations & institutions that have been working for the benefit of differently-abled people and have maximised the use of solar energy in the host country.

List of Winners:

• Visvesvaraya award: Japan for the Asia Pacific region and the Netherlands for Europe and Others region.
• Kalpana Chawla awards: Dr Bhim Singh from IIT Delhi (India) and Dr Aaesha Alnuaimi from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (United Arab Emirates).
• Diwakar award: Arpan Institute (Haryana) and Arushi Society.

India hosts 7th meeting of Ministers of Justice of SCO

The 7th meeting of Ministers of (Law and) Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States was virtually hosted by Indian Minister of Law & Justice, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Indian side urged the SCO Member States to promote the exchange of ideas, best practices and experiences in identified areas through the platform. He also mentioned initiating Pro Bono Legal Services to provide free legal aid to marginalized sections of the society.

The virtual meeting was attended by justice ministers from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, according to a statement by the Ministry Of Law and Justice. The Seventh Session of the Justice Ministers of SCO member states deliberated on areas of cooperation; emphasized the high relevance of
India has successfully conducted the night trial of its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore, off Odisha coast. The user flight trial was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command of the armed force under the watch of DRDO scientists as part of a training exercise.

8th India-Sri Lanka Maritime Exercise SLINEX- 20 begins

The 8th edition of the annual Indian Navy (IN) – Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 starts at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from 19 to 21 October 2020. The Indian Navy will be represented by the indigenously built ASW corvettes Kamorta and Kiltan. The Sri Lanka Navy will be represented by SLN Ships Sayura (Offshore Patrol Vessel) and Gajabahu (Training Ship).

About SLINEX-20:

• The SLINEX-20 will enhance interoperability, improve mutual understanding and exchange best practices and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between both navies.
• The exercise is being conducted in a non-contact 'at- sea-only' format in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic.
• SLINEX series of exercise emphasises the deep engagement between India and Sri Lanka which has strengthened mutual cooperation in the maritime domain.

India ranked 94 in Global Hunger Index 2020

India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020. With a score of 27.2, India has been placed in the "serious" category in the GHI scale. Although there is an improvement in a score as compared to 38.9 in 2000, 37.5 in 2006, and 29.3 in 2012 but still it represent a serious level of hunger. Last year, India‘s rank was 102 out of 117 countries. According to the report, 14 percent of India‘s population is undernourished. It also showed the country recorded a 37.4 percent stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3 per cent. The under-five mortality rate stood at 3.7 per cent.

The neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan too are in the "serious" category but ranked higher than India in this year‘s hunger index. While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan are in the 78th and 88th position. Nepal in 73rd and Sri Lanka in 64th position are in "moderate" hunger category, the report showed.

Global Front:

For the 2020 GHI report, data were assessed for 132 countries. Out of these, there were sufficient data to calculate 2020 GHI scores for and rank 107 countries (by way of comparison, data availability allowed for the ranking of 117 countries in the 2019 report). For 25 countries, individual scores could not be calculated and ranks could not be determined owing to lack of data.

About Global Hunger Index:

The GHI is a tool designed to measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and national levels to make a reasonable assessment. Data from the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral agencies are used for the calculation GHI on the basis of 4 Indicators which are:

• Share of the population that is undernourished
• Share of children under the age of five who are wasted
• Share of children under the age of five who are stunted
• The mortality rate of children under the age of five

A score of less than 9.9 signifies "low" hunger, that of 10- 19.9 represents "moderate" levels of hunger, 20-34.9 points to "serious" hunger, 35-39.9 signifies "alarming" and over 50 "extremely alarming" levels of hunger.

Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar has launched “AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR”.

The scheme is a unique way to assist cooperatives to play an important role in the creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country.

About AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR”:

• AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme has been formulated by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
• The NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of 10 thousand crores in the coming years.
• NCDC‘s scheme will be a step towards strengthening farmers welfare activities by the Central Government.
• NCDC‘s Ayushman Sahakar scheme aims at bringing transformation in the health services primarily in the rural areas.
• The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet the operational requirements of the health facilities. It provides interest subvention of one per cent to women majority cooperatives.

Indian Army launches indigenous mobile application SAI

The Indian Army has launched a secured messaging application platform named 'Secure Application for the Internet' (SAI). This mobile application for Android will support end-to-end secure voice, text and video calling services. This application is similar to applications like Telegram and WhatsApp.

According to the Ministry of Defence:

• SAI has been vetted by CERT-in empanelled auditor and Army Cyber Group. It also informed that the process for filing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) hosting the infrastructure on NIC and working on iOS platform is currently in progress.
• Ministry of Defence also informed that SAI will be used by pan Army to ensure securing messaging.
• Upon reviewing the functionalities of the application, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised Col Sai Shankar for his skill and ingenuity for developing the application.

14th Asian Film Awards Winners List:

The 14th edition of Asian Film Awards was organized by the Asian Film Awards Academy. Indian Movie Gully Boy has received the award for the Best Original Score at 14th Asian Film Awards. The award went to Karsh Kale 

International Current Affairs

• An IEEE Spectrum report, the Beijing-based company is set to send the world‘s first mining robot named 'asteroid mining robot' into space by November 2020 to identify and extract resources. The mining robot will be launched into space by a Chinese Long March series rocket.
• The Kuwaiti government, headed by Prime Minister(PM) Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah submitted its resignation to Emir Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah in anticipation of the upcoming general elections that are due to be held in November 2020. He took charge as the PM in 2019.
• Russia successfully test-fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile in the Arctic. The Missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea, Russian Arctic. The missile covered a distance of 450 km with the maximum altitude of its trajectory at 28 km.
• King of Jordan, Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein has appointed Bishr al-Khasawneh, policy advisor to the king, as new Prime Minister of the country.
• As part of the United Nations International Day of Girl Child (11th October 2020), a 16-year old Aava Murto assumed the post of Finland‘s Prime Minister for one day on 7th October 2020 to raise awareness about gender equality. It was done as part of the "Girls Takeover" Program.
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Asia Pacific Group has kept Pakistan in its 'Enhanced Follow Up' list. The organisation had downgraded Pakistan status from "regular follow-up" to "enhanced follow up"
• Kyrgyzstan President, Sooronbai Jeenbekov has resigned from his post, following 10 days of unrest caused by protesters who have demanded his removal from office. On 4th October 2020, he was re- elected as the President in Parliamentary election, causing political turmoil throughout the country.
• The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, won a landslide victory in the country‘s general election, to be elected as the PM for the second consecutive three-year term.
• Singapore became the World‘s First Country to attach Facial verification in the National Identification Database. The function is called "SingPass Face Verification". This technology is being rolled out to the city-state‘s SingPass digital identity scheme, offering access to no less than 400 online services, including tax declarations and public housing applications.
• Former Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad al-Hariri has been re-appointed to the post, after winning a slim majority of votes in parliament election. Hariri received 65 parliamentary votes out of 118, giving him the mandate to form his new government. In October 2019, Hariri announced his resignation amid 2019-20 mass-protests.
• Andorra has joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to become its 190th member. Andorra is a microstate situated between France and Spain. However, it is the largest microstate in Europe.
• The global terror financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has announced that Pakistan will continue to remain on its grey list till February 2021. This decision has been taken since Pakistan has not been able to fulfil six out of the 27 mandates to check terror funding. FATF has strongly urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2021.
• Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan has been elected as the President of Seychelles. Seychelles has elected an opposition candidate as president for the first time since 1977. He has defeated the incumbent Danny Faure. Ramakalwan is a priest of Indian Origin whose grandfather came from Gopalganj, Bihar.
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, plans to build a headquarters for space operations at its airbase in Ramstein in Germany, to counter a rising Russian and Chinese threat.
• Alpha Condé, the incumbent president of Guinea and leader of Rally of the Guinean People (Rassemblement du Peuple Guinéen – RPG) party won the 3rd the term as the President of Guinea by winning the 2020 presidential elections. He won the election against Cellou Dalein Diallo with 59.49 % votes. Diallo got 33.5% votes in the election. Winning the 2020 elections, Alpha Condé is set to govern the country for the next 6 years.
• Luis Arce has been chosen as the President-elect of Bolivia, after winning a landslide victory in the 2020 Bolivian general election. He captured 55.1% of the total votes. Arce will take the charge of the office on 8 November 2020. He would succeed Jeanine Anez, who is serving as the interim President of Bolivia.
• Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga has stated that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Prime Minister stated he intends to make a sustainable economy a pillar of his growth strategy and put maximum effort into achieving a green society.

National Current Affairs

• The Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju has launched the new logo of Sports Authority of India‘s (SAI) on 30 September 2020 at Delhi‘s Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.
• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced a special refinance facility of Rs 800 crore for Fiscal Year 2021. With this, NABARD will support the Government of India‘s Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
• India and Myanmar are working towards the operationalization of the Sittwe port in the Rakhine state of Myanmar in the first quarter of 2021. The port is part of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project which is being viewed as India‘s gateway to Southeast Asia.
• Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani has launched the first-ever Brand and Logo for Indian Cotton on Second World Cotton Day through video conferencing. Now India‘s premium cotton would be known as 'Kasturi Cotton' in the world cotton trade. The Kasturi Cotton brand will represent Whiteness, Brightness, Softness, Purity, Luster, Uniqueness and Indianness.
• The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs will integrate the application programming interface (API) between SVANidhi portal and various banks to expedite loan sanctioning and disbursement process under Modi government‘s PM SVANidhi scheme for nano entrepreneurs.
• To begin with, the ministry launched the API integration between the PM SVANidhi portal and SBI‘s eMudra portal. Ministry would perform similar integration with other banks as well for which a consultative meeting will be held shortly.
• The Union Minister Piyush Goyal has been assigned the additional charge of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in addition to his existing portfolios, following the death of union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Goyal is currently serving as the Union Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry.
• The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on behalf of the Government of India has extended a Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 400 million (about Rs 2,932 crore) to the Maldives. The soft loan will be used for financing the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) in the Maldives, which is the single-largest connectivity and infrastructure project in the island nation.
• Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has approved the implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project. The total project cost is Rs 5718 crore with the financial support of World Bank amounting to the USD 500 million (approximately Rs. 3700 crores). The project will cover 6 states namely Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.
• India and France were re-elected as the president and co-president of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) for a term of two years at the virtual meeting of the third assembly.
• India has contributed one million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in Near East. This aid will support the Agency‘s programmes and services, including education, health care, relief and social services.
• The Election Commission of India has set up a 2- member committee to examine the issue of revising the expenditure limit for candidates for Lok Sabha and assembly polls. The committee will comprise of Shri Harish Kumar, Ex. IRS and DG (Investigation), Shri Umesh Sinha, Secretary-General and DG (Expenditure).
• The country‘s largest para-military force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has collaborated with IIT Delhi, Defence Research and Development Organisation, and Joint Advanced Technology Centre (JATC) to augment its Research and Development capabilities.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a loan agreement worth USD 177 million, to upgrade 450 km of state highways and major district roads in Maharashtra.
• The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari virtually laid the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park of India, at Jogighopa, in Bongaigaon district of Assam.In India, the National Police Commemoration Day is observed on 21st October every year. The day is marked to remember and honour the brave policemen who have laid down their lives in the line of duty. On 21 October 1959, twenty Indian soldiers were attacked by Chinese troops in Ladakh‘s Hot Spring area, in which, ten Indian policemen lost their lives and seven were imprisoned.
• India has assumed the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of International Labour Organization (ILO), after a gap of 35 years. The Labour and Employment Secretary, Apurva Chandra, has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the ILO for the period October 2020- June 2021.
• NITI Aayog has constituted a 14-member advisory committee to look into introducing reforms in the urban planning education system. The panel will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar. The members of the committee include Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog and secretaries of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA), Ministry of Education(MoE) and Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (I/C), Prahlad Singh Patel has virtually launched the "Life in Miniature" project, a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts & culture.
• Department of Posts (DOP), Ministry of Communications released a commemorative postage stamp on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Organisations. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava stated India attaches the highest priority to the expansion of the UN Security Council so that it reflects contemporary realities of the world.
• The Vigilance Awareness Week 2020, is being celebrated from 27 October to 2 November 2020. The is observed every year by the Central Vigilance Commission during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31 October) falls. The theme for 2020 Vigilance Awareness Week is Vigilant India, Prosperous India (Satark Bharat, Samriddh Bharat).
• Every year, October 27 is celebrated as Infantry Day by the Indian Army in Jammu & Kashmir (known by the nickname, Chinar Corps). The Chinar Corps celebrated the 74th Infantry Day on October 27, 2020, to honour the supreme sacrifice of the gallant soldiers in fighting the Pakistani invaders, in Jammu and Kashmir, in 1947.
• The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C), Mansukh Mandaviya has inaugurated the 'Direct Port Entry (DPE) facility' of V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust in Tamil Nadu. This will help in increasing Ease of Doing Business for the exporters, as the facility will bring efficiency and reduce dwell time, lower tariff cost and improve the competitiveness of shipper in the international trade.

Sports Current Affairs

•  Australian woman cricketer and wicketkeeper, Alyssa Healy broke the record of "Most Dismissal by Wicket Keeper" by MS Dhoni‘s who made 91 dismissals in 98 T20 Internationals(T20Is) for India.
• India‘s Visnu Shivaraj Pandian has won the 10m air rifle event at the fifth edition of the International Online Shooting Championship. The 16-year-old Visnu shot 251.4 to win the title by a clear margin of two points. The world No. 27 Etienne Germond of France came second followed by Martin Strempfl of Austria at third place.
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, held at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) came second followed by Daniel Ricciardo (Renault, Australia) at third position.
• The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat to win the National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship 2020. This is the 17th NBA title win for LA Lakers and also there first since 2010, after late Kobe Bryant‘s fifth and final title a decade ago. LeBron James of the Lakers‘ was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the fourth time in his career.
• Romania‘s 2008 Olympic champion, Constantina Dita has been named an ambassador for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020. The 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, originally scheduled for 29 March 2020 in Gdynia, Poland, was postponed until 17 October 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Commonwealth Games medallist in Badminton, Chetan Anand has been roped in as the brand ambassador for India‘s first-ever homegrown professional badminton brand "Transform".
• Pakistani pace bowler, Umar Gul has announced that he will retire from all forms of cricket. The 36-year- old Gul, who played his last match for Pakistan an ODI in 2016, featured for Balochistan team in the National T20 Cup.
• In Badminton, former World Champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan clinched the Denmark Open 2020 title beating three-time world champion Carolina Marin in women‘s singles. In the men‘s singles final, world number seven Anders Antonsen of Denmark defeated his compatriot Rasmus Gemke.
• In Shooting, the world number one Elavenil Valarivan of India won the gold medal in women‘s event of the 2020 Sheikh Russel International Air Rifle Championship. The event was organised by Bangladesh Shooting Sport Federation (BSSF).
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix, held at Algarve International Circuit, Portugal. This was the 12th round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship. This is Hamilton‘s 8th win of the season and 92nd career race victory.
• Tanmay Manoj Srivastava, who was part of India‘s Under-19 World Cup-winning team in 2008 announced his retirement from all forms of domestic cricket. He played 90 first-class games, scoring 4918 runs.

Defence Current Affairs

• The second edition of Indian Navy (IN) – Bangladesh Navy (BN) Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar commences in Northern Bay of Bengal. Exercise Bongosagar, is aimed at developing inter- operability and joint operational skills through conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations.
• The Indian Coast Guard Vessel Karnaklata Barua was commissioned at Kolkata. It is the fifth and last in a series of Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. The FPVs are upgraded versions of the inshore patrol vessels with a modified form of the hull and can achieve a speed of 34 knots. Such vessels have also been delivered to Indian Navy by GRSE.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired a new version of the surface-to-surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile "Shaurya" at Balasore, off the coast of Odisha.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully flight tested the "Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo" (SMART) from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.
• The seventh offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), "Vigraha" was formally unveiled at the Kattupalli port, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.The vessel, built by Larsen and Toubro, is the last in the series of seven OPVs contracted to the company by the Ministry of Defence in 2015.
• The DRDO has successfully flight-tested a new generation Anti-Radiation Missile (RUDRAM-1) at the Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha. The missile was launched from SU-30 Mk1 fighter aircraft.
• A two-day Coastal Security Exercise namely 'Sagar Kavach' conducted by the Indian Navy along with Indian Coast Guard and all stakeholders involved in Coastal Security from the coast of Kerala. The exercise was monitored from Joint Operations Centre, Kochi.
• Indian Army and Maharashtra Police organised an anti-terror exercise "Suraksha Kavach" at Lullanagar, Pune, Maharashtra. The aim of the exercise was to harmonize the drills and procedures of both Army and Police for activating anti-terrorist Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) to counter any terrorist actions in Pune.
• India successfully flight-tested its indigenously developed Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast. The missile was test-fired from a roof-top launcher of the ground-based platform. It is an upgraded version of the anti-tank missile, Helicopter Launched Nag (HeliNa).
• Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully carried out the final trial of the third generation, anti-tank guided missile 'NAG', from the Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan.
• The Chief of Army Staff, General MM Naravane has commissioned the 'INS Kavaratti', the last of four indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes, into the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam.
• India successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, from the Indian Navy‘s indigenously- built stealth destroyer INS Chennai with the weapon hitting a pre-designated target in the Arabian Sea.
• India has invited Australia to participate in its trilateral naval exercise "Malabar-2020" which is scheduled to be held in November 2020, in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. In 2020, the exercise will be held in a 'non-contact – at sea' format. It aims to increase cooperation and enhance safety and security in the maritime security domain.

Science and Technology

• World Space Week (WSW) is observed from October 4 to 10 every year to celebrate science and technology, and their contribution towards the betterment of the human condition. The 2020 theme is "Satellites Improve Life."
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft named "SS Kalpana Chawla" after its astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
• The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will be commissioning India‘s largest HPC-AI supercomputer 'PARAM Siddhi – AI'. This initiative will place India among the top countries in global AI supercomputing research and innovation. The initiative was headed by Abhishek Das, Scientist and Program Director (HPC-AI Infrastructure Development) at C-DAC, who conceived the idea and designed the architecture for the largest HPC-AI infrastructure in India.
• Nokia has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon. NASA aims to return humans to the moon by 2024 and dig in for a long- term presence there under its Artemis programme. The first wireless broadband communications system in space would be built on the lunar surface in late 2022.
• The researchers at IIT Kharagpur have developed 'COVIRAP', the Covid-19 diagnostic test technology, which is fairly easy to conduct and affordable as well and can produce results within one hour. This COVIRAP technology has been successfully validated for its efficacy in COVID-19 detection by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and been granted certification, after rigorous testing with patient samples by an authorized ICMR laboratory.
• Two new studies published in Nature Astronomy suggest there could be much more water than previously thought, including ice stored in permanently shadowed "cold traps" at lunar polar regions. Using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Telescope, researchers scanned the lunar surface at a more precise wavelength than had been used before — six microns instead of three. This allowed them to distinguish the spectral fingerprint of molecular water.

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States and their Chief Ministers & Governors:

Union Ministers in News

Heads of Various Organizations in News